Almost There
by Animegoil
Summary: Robin won't make a move on Artemis without Wally's consent first. No matter how close they come to it. One-shot, Robin/Artemis.


**Because I love Robin and Artemis, but Robin and Wally are bros first and foremost.**

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><p><strong><em>Almost<em>**

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><p>After the swirl of movements, kicks and dodges, Robin's grapple hold on Artemis leaves them in a momentary standstill. The cave is silent save for their panting breaths and the creak of joints straining for release. Artemis knows what's coming next. She closes her eyes and can only feel the heat of Robin's body, pressed against her as he pins her arms behind her back, ignoring the twinge in her shoulders for the way his grip is loosening and his breath is inching closer to her lips as her own head fills with smoke. She dreamt about this, not a month ago, that she and Robin were—<p>

He suddenly lets her go like he's just touched a hot stove, eyes wide and babbling.

"Woa, woa, sorry but—Wally's my bro, and I—"

Artemis's eyes snap open and she pulls back, confused and more than a little annoyed. The moment is broken, already fading into a wispy memory. A trickle of sweat slides down her temple, tickling her skin, and she rubs it away. "What does Kid Mouth have to do with this?"

Robin laughs and shifts his feet in a not-so-subtle attempt to replace the distance between them. "What do you mean? It's obvious to anyone that you two have a thing for each other—"

"Wait, _what?_ Well, _apparently_ I'm too subtle for even myself, because I don't see the 'obvious' here."

Robin stops and gives her a dubious look, rolling the shoulder he fell on back and forth slowly as he bounces on the balls of his feet.

"…So you _don't_ like KF?"

There is a cool draft of air coming in front one of the vents in the ceiling and Artemis turns her face towards it and lets it wash over her, feigning nonchalance. She catches his raised eyebrows and rolls her eyes, huffing. "Alright, fine, so it's not like I hadn't thought about it. And he's great—I like him more than I let on, okay?" Her glare tells him that if he lets Wally know she said that, she'll skewer him. "But…" She glances at Robin as she trails off, but he has his head cocked to the side and looks genuinely interested in what she has to say so she sits on the bench and begins stretching, reaching out to grab the tip of her toes. She relishes the burn of her muscles stretching and pulling. "I realized at some point… that all my life all I've done is wait on people. Wait on them and take care of them."

She waited for her father's approval, for her mother to get out of jail, for her sister to come back. She's still waiting – for the team to find out, for her life to come crashing down when she's forced to admit that nature wins over nurture.

Robin says nothing, just sits next to her and passes her a water bottle, unscrewing the lid off his own. She can't see his eyes, but his face is turned slightly towards her so that she can tell he's listening, and she feels slightly heady under the attention and the embarrassment of revealing such personal things. "And don't get me wrong, I like taking care of people. It's part of being a hero, you know? But in a relationship? I think… I don't want to feel so responsible for the other person. And you know, with Wally, I feel like I'd end up being his mother."

They both laugh a little, and their shoulders brush against each other with the movement. Robin still says nothing. Artemis runs her fingernail in circles over the top of her knees, very carefully not looking at him. She can feel his expectant gaze, and she wonders if she's so easy to read that he knows she's not finished.

"I think… I want to be taken care of, for once."

She realizes how stupid and girly and dumb of a statement that is as soon as she closes her mouth.

But Robin doesn't laugh, or even get that small smirk that shows he's not-so-secretly amused by something. Instead, he takes a swig of his water bottle and says, as if she just said something completely legitimate, "That's fair enough. I think I'm the opposite though. I only feel worthy of being Robin when I'm helping others and taking care of them. I _want_ to take care of someone."

Silence.

Artemis can feel her heart pumping, hear every valve open and close, feel the throbbing in her aching, swollen feet and her reddened fingertips. She suddenly stands up. This —she can't, she's so used to people rejecting her, rejecting who she is and what she wants – her father didn't believe her to be more than the criminal he'd raised her to be, her sister ignored her pleas to stay, her mother _abandoned_ her for six years, because 'work' was more important than the risks they ran— there's no way Robin is just this _willing_ and _accepting_—

"I should probably go, this whole thing—"

She freezes as Robin grabs her arm, pulling her close. "This whole thing is fine," he says, warm breath ghosting over her lips, and he brings up a hand to place it on her cheek. His glove is rough and textured on her face, but warm even through the cloth of the glove, and he rubs her cheekbone once, twice. "I want to. But," he grins apologetically, "I have to talk to KF first—have a guy talk and make sure he's okay with this, cause I'm pretty sure he's just refusing to admit he has a thing for you."

Artemis's mouth is dry. She can't stop staring at Robin's eyes, because at this distance, through the whiteout, she can see the outline of his eyes.

"Yeah, you, um, you do that. Wouldn't want to— you two, you're. Important— you know, bros before hoes."

He bursts out laughing at that, hot, damp breath washing over her face as he lets her go and bends over laughing. He shakes his head and grins at her. "Yeah, exactly. Only you would say it like that."

She smiles weakly. "I call it like it is, Wonder Boy."

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><p><strong>I'd be lying if I said RobArt isn't my favorite pairing in this show. Followed closely by ZatannaArtemis, mwahaha.  
><strong>


End file.
